1. Modern Systems Analysis and Design Fifth Edition
Chapter 11
Designing Forms and Reports
11.1
Cis339

2. Learning Objectives
Explain the process of designing forms and reports and the deliverables for their creation
Discuss general guidelines for formatting forms and reports
Use color and know when color improves the usability of information
Learn how to effectively format text, tables and lists
Explain how to assess usability
11.2
Cis339

3. Cis339

4. Designing Forms and Reports
Cis339

5. Designing Forms and Reports
System inputs and outputs are produced at the end of the analysis phase
Precise appearance was not defined during this phase (analysis phase)
Forms and reports are integrally (belong to or essential part of) related to DFD and E-R diagrams
11.5
Cis339

6. Cis339

7. Designing Forms and Reports Key Concepts
A business document that contains some predefined data and may include some areas where additional data are to be filled in
An instance of a form is typically based on one database record
It can be used for both input and output.
Report
A business document that contains only predefined data
A passive document for reading or viewing data and info for collection of items.
Typically contains data from many database records or transactions
11.7
Cis339

8. The Process of Designing Forms and Reports
It is a User-focused activity
which Follows a prototyping approach
Requirements determination
Who will use the form or report?
What is the purpose of the form or report?
When is the report needed or used?
Where does the form or report need to be delivered and used?
How many people need to use or view the form or report?
11.8
Cis339

9. The Process of Designing Forms and Reports
Prototyping
Initial prototype is designed from requirements
Users review prototype design and either accept the design or request changes
If changes are requested, the construction-evaluation-refinement cycle is repeated until the design is accepted
11.9
Cis339

10. Deliverables and Outcome
Design specifications of forms and reports are the major deliverable and contain three sections:
Narrative(general) overview of the chars of user, tasks, system, and environmental factors.
Sample design of the form is shown.
Testing and usability assessment information.
Cis339

11. General Guidelines for the Design of Forms and Reports
Meaningful Titles, clear and specific titles and date (current and revision)
Meaningful Information, needed only should be displayed, info are usable without any modification.
Balance the layout, spacing margins.
Navigation easily, back and forward, page number (1 of 10)
Cis339

12. General Formatting Guidelines for Forms and Reports
Highlighting
Use sparingly to draw user to or away from certain information
Blinking and audible tones should only be used to highlight critical information requiring user’s immediate attention
Methods should be consistently selected and used based upon level of importance of emphasized information
Cis339

13. General Formatting Guidelines for Forms and Reports Color versus No-Color
Benefits from Using Color
Soothes or strikes the eye
Accents an uninteresting display
Facilitates subtle (fine, difficult to perceive) discriminations in complex displays
Emphasizes the logical organization of information
Draws attention to warnings
Evokes more emotional reactions
Problems from Using Color
Color pairings may wash out or cause problems for some users
Resolution may degrade with different displays
Printing or conversion to other media may not easily translate
11.13
Cis339

14. General Formatting Guidelines for Forms and Reports
Displaying Text
Display text in mixed upper and lower case and use conventional punctuation
Use double spacing if space permits. If not, place a blank line between paragraphs
Left-justify text and leave a ragged right margin
Do not hyphenate words between lines
Use abbreviations and acronyms only when they are widely understood by users and are significantly shorter than the full text
11.14
Cis339

15. General Formatting Guidelines for Forms and Reports
Designing tables and lists
Use meaningful Labels
All columns and rows should have meaningful labels
Labels should be separated from other information by using highlighting
Re-display labels when the data extend beyond a single screen or page
11.15
Cis339

16. General Formatting Guidelines for Forms and Reports
Designing tables and lists (continued)
Formatting columns, rows and text
Sort in a meaningful order
Place a blank line between every five rows in long columns
Similar information displayed in multiple columns should be sorted vertically
Columns should have at least two spaces between them
Allow white space on printed reports for user to write notes
Use a single typeface, except for emphasis
Use same family of typefaces within and across displays and reports
Avoid overly fancy fonts
11.16
Cis339

17. General Formatting Guidelines for Forms and Reports
Designing tables and lists (continued)
Formatting numeric, textual and alphanumeric data
Right-justify numeric data and align columns by decimal points or other delimiter
Left-justify textual data. Use short line length, usually 30 to 40 characters per line
Break long sequences of alphanumeric data into small groups of three to four characters each
Paper versus Electronic Reports
Printer used for producing paper report needs to be considered in design
Use a prototyping process similar to designing a form
11.17
Cis339

18. Assessing Usability
Objective for designing forms, reports and all human-computer interactions is usability.
It refers to the following three characteristics:
Speed, can you complete a task efficiently?
Accuracy, does the output provide what you expect?
Satisfaction, do you like the output?
In other words, usability means that your designs assist, not delay or interrupt user performance.
11.18
Cis339

19. Assessing Usability Cis339
Usability: an overall evaluation of how a system performs in supporting a particular user for a particular task.
Usability Success Factors
Consistency: of terminology, formatting, titles, navigation, response time.
Efficiency: minimize required user actions.
Ease: self-explanatory outputs and labels.
Format: appropriate display of data and symbols.
Flexibility: maximize user options for data input according to preference.
11.19
Cis339

20. Assessing Usability Measures of Usability (user friendliness) Cis339
Considerations when assessing usability:
Time to learn
Speed of performance
Rate of errors
Retention (remembering things) over time
Subjective satisfaction
In assessing usability you can collect information using one or more of these methods
Observation
Interviews
Keystroke capturing
Questionnaires
11.20
Cis339